


1185, Horsebow Moon 3: Rewind

by KelikZenair



Series: Three Houses Works [1]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, F/M, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-05-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24409246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KelikZenair/pseuds/KelikZenair
Summary: The war was won, but at what cost? The Blue Lions and Black Eagles are dead and buried, and
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: Three Houses Works [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762996
Kudos: 8





	1185, Horsebow Moon 3: Rewind

Claude and Byleth stood at the base of the Goddess Tower, having just finished pouring their hearts out to one another. Claude was ready to pack his bags and leave for Almyra, while Byleth was going to begin unifying Fòdlan.

Byleth held his embrace as long as she could, before reluctantly releasing him.

"Claude...at last the war is over, and you're finally about to go fulfill your dream…but there's something I need you to know."

Byleth stepped back, a somber expression on her face.

Claude looked at her, confused, "Byleth, is something wrong?"

"As I'm sure you can tell, I have abilities that were granted to me due to my unique connection with the Goddess One of those abilities is to turn back the hands of time."

“Byleth, why didn’t you tell me? Or anyone, even? You

Byleth couldn't help but smile at Claude's snappy response, but that smile quickly faded.

"I have only ever used it to reverse a few moments. I could give someone a second chance to take out an enemy, or avoid a blow that would have killed them. In truth...I've seen most of our allies die, and reversed the flow of time to save them- myself included, but never you," Byleth smiled and chuckled softly, "The Empire could never put you down."

Claude took a deep breath, processing everything she was saying, "My love, I'm so sorry you had to see that…"

"I even tried to use it to save the others...the Eagles and Lions. And my father. But in every case, fate chose to cut them down."

Byleth began to tear up, her memories beginning to overwhelm her.

"Byleth, I…" Claude tried to console her, but she cut him off, her voice beginning to crack and falter from the weight of her emotions.

"Claude, when you can do what I can, and you don’t, and innocent people die, those people died because of you- they died because of me. Ingrid, and Bernadetta, and Hubert, and…"

She allowed herself to cry for the second time in her life, Claude immediately wrapping her in another embrace.

"You said it yourself, my love...there's nothing you could’ve done."

"But…" Byleth sniffled, and took a moment to recollect herself, "But there is...Claude, I'm the only one who remembers the original events, even after they are reversed...if I…" Byleth took a deep breath and stared into Claude’s eyes. She cleared her throat, trying to abate some of the weepiness that remained in her voice, replacing it with a shaken, somber resolve, "If I went back five years, to when we first met...I would know everything that was going to happen. And I would be able to prevent it...Dimitri, Dorothea, Ashe, Linhardt, Petra- everyone else we lost, Claude, I could bring them all back."

Claude stared back at her, speechless, "I...Byleth, I…"

"Claude, you always have believed strongly in your dream. You would do anything to achieve it. This is my dream."

"But...would I...forget you?"

Byleth nodded solemnly, "Everyone would. The world would be exactly as it was that morning. The only difference is that I would know what would happen for the next five years."

Claude shook his head, "I...I'm closer to my dream than I've ever been, but... if you're right, if I could be standing here, but surrounded by all the students and innocents who died in this war...then it would be an empty dream to fulfill. I would be unifying a world that I knew was irreparably broken. I...I don't want to be without you, Byleth, but…"

Byleth interrupted him, "You won't be losing me, not at all. We will cross paths again, I'll become your professor, and this time I will teach everyone at Garreg Mach...and when Edelgard rises against the monastery, we will all stand against her. You said you were going to leave for a while... don't think of this as anything different."

"But I won't even remember this conversation...or any of the nights we've spent together, or the secrets we've shared, or the feeling of fighting side by side…"

Byleth nodded, "Indeed, you won't. You'll be able to experience all of those incredible things for the very first time, all over again."

Claude smiled softly, "It doesn't sound so bad when you put it like that."

Byleth smiled back, "No, it really doesn't…"

She sighed, "Remember, Claude. We have the strength to scale the walls between us. Now we are facing the greatest wall of them all...and, soon, we will be standing right here, at this same exact moment, having scaled it."

Byleth took his hands in her own.

"Together."

It was Claude's turn to tear up now, and his voice cracked as he meekly cried, "If that’s what you think is best..."

Byleth looked up at him through tears of her own, "Don't fret, my love. It'll feel like I never even left."

Byleth kissed him, and he returned with passion tenfold, the two of them sharing a kiss that would serve as the single reminder of everything that Byleth was fighting to return to, a single flame of passion and vision so bright that it would shine through time itself to burn in her heart five years in the past. 

Enjoying the kiss for as long as she could, Byleth finally accepted that she could not hold onto this moment forever, and she stretched her divine power. Instantly she felt everything begin whirring by. Her body pulled itself back through the motions faster than she could feel it, a whirlwind of experiences and events, a maelstrom of memories and encounters, both the grandiose and the mundane, until it all snapped shut, and Byleth saw only the blackness of her own closed eyes.

And then, she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey. Time to wake up."


End file.
